Taroko Gorge, a cavernous 12-mile canyon on Taiwan’s northeast coast, is the island’s most spectacular natural feature. The gorge’s smooth marble walls rise nearly vertically—for hundreds of feet in some sections—from the blue-green Liwu River. The journey from Taiwan's capital to Taroko Gorge along the jagged cliff-lined coast is also breathtaking, so the national park’s trails, hotels, and natural hot springs are almost always swarming with tourists.